


Back Then

by VioletPixels



Category: Black Panther (2018), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: AU where T'Challa has passed away, Avengers Family, Big Brothers, Bittersweet Ending, Black Character(s), Black Panther Shuri (Marvel), Brother-Sister Relationships, Brotherly Angst, Canon Divergence - Black Panther (2018), Chadwick Boseman - Freeform, Character Death, Djalia | Ancestral Plane (Marvel), Family Feels, Family Loss, Family Member Death, Feels, Female Character of Color, Gen, Hopeful Ending, Little Sisters, Loss, Marvel - Freeform, Marvel POC Characters, Marvel Universe, One Shot, Post-Black Panther (2018), Quote: Wakanda forever (Marvel), Rest in Peace Chadwick, Sad, Short One Shot, Sibling Love, Songfic, Sort of a vent story, Superheroes, Wakanda (Marvel), mcu - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:35:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27841597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VioletPixels/pseuds/VioletPixels
Summary: In the wake of her brother's passing, a lonely princess thinks about everything that has happened and will happen.Written in honor of Chadwick Boseman. Rest in Power. <3
Kudos: 8





	Back Then

**Author's Note:**

> This is a quick songfic I wrote in honor of Chadwick Boseman's birthday, which was November 29th. I meant to post it then but got a bit busy, so here it is now. I hope you'll enjoy <3
> 
> The song used is Time Adventure by Rebecca Sugar.

_Time is an illusion that helps things make sense  
So we are always living in the present tense  
It seems unforgiving when a good thing ends  
But you and I will always be back then._

Shuri lays on her bed, staring blankly up at the ceiling. Another night has gone by with no sleep; once again, the dull ache of her broken heart has kept her awake. The Royal Palace is still and quiet outside her room. It's always been that way, but for the past week or so it's for a different reason than usual. Everyone is grieving, suffering from the loss of Wakanda's very heart and soul.

The passing of T'Challa had taken the entire country by surprise. Just a few nights ago, he'd been wishing her good night, a smile on his face as he retreated to his chamber. 

_"Don't stay up too late, little sister," he'd told her._

_"I won't." She'd said it dismissively, eager to finish working in her lab. "Don't worry about me, brother. I'll be in bed within the next hour or so."_

_"I will hold you to that."_

_She'd smirked, rolling her eyes slightly. "Good night, T'Challa."_

_"Good night, Shuri."_

That was the last time he had ever smiled at her, ever uttered her name, ever spoken at all. The next morning, instead of the tranquil silence of the palace, Shuri had awoken to the anguished cries of her mother. That was the day she learned that while she had been fortunate enough to wake up that morning, her brother wasn't so lucky. The entire world stood still that day, like if it dared to move even an inch, everything would come crashing down. Part of her wants to believe it's all just a horrible dream. Maybe any moment she'll wake up to his smiling face, telling her to hurry up and get dressed so she's not late for the first meeting of the day. Even so, she knows there's no point. Her beloved older brother is gone—a painful reality, but reality nonetheless.

No one realized his health was so poor. The public had no clue, and while his family was aware he wasn't feeling his best, they never suspected it would be his downfall. Shuri had noticed the exhaustion behind his eyes, the slowness he moved with and the bulk lost from his body. But every time she asked about it, he insisted he was fine with a reassuring smile. He must've been tired, she'd concluded after a while. After all, stabilizing the kingdom following Thanos's devastation was a daunting task, one that must've taken a toll on him. But it was nothing her brother—the King of Wakanda and the mighty Black Panther—couldn't overcome. 

How utterly wrong she had been.

_You and I will always be back then, singing:  
_ _Will happen, happening, happened  
Will happen, happening, happened  
And will happen again and again  
'Cause you and I will always be back then._

The princess has always considered herself a genius, but for once, she finds herself unable to comprehend what's going on. None of it makes sense. How can someone be with her one moment, then gone the next? How can someone just disappear out of thin air, never to be seen or heard from by the living again? Barely a year after her father's passing at that. It's like a cruel joke with an even crueler punchline, one that makes her sick to her stomach.

_If there was some amazing force outside of time  
To take us back to where we were  
And hang each moment up like pictures on the wall  
Inside a billion tiny frames so that we could see it all, all, all..._

The little moments are the ones she thinks about the most. Leaning her head on his shoulder during morning meetings in the throne room, when she was too tired to stand on her own. Shouting at him when he messed with something in her lab, only to burst out laughing moments later at his cluelessness. Smiling gratefully when he could tell she was nervous during conferences, and slipped his fingers gently through hers. She'd give anything to go back just a few days, to return to where they once where. She could tell him that, although she sometimes acted like she didn't care, she loved him more than anyone else in all the world. She could tell him how he was always her light, the one she trusted to lead her and the rest of Wakanda through darkness. She could tell him what she never had the courage to say when he was alive—that she wanted to be just like him. To lead, to inspire, to love just as he had.

Deep down, Shuri knows T'Challa isn't completely gone—no one ever truly is. His spirit is probably roaming the Ancestral Plane at this very moment. No doubt he's reconciling with the rest of their family lost to the ages, maybe even speaking with Baba. Even so, his worldly heart no longer beats. His lips can no longer speak or smile, and his hands can no longer reach out to her, holding her close the way they did not so long ago. It's another thing that baffles her, how someone can be dead yet simultaneously living. She just wishes he could be back living with her.

_Will happen, happening, happened  
Will happen, happening, happened and  
There we are, again and again  
'Cause you and I will always be back then  
You and I will always be back then._

Shuri sighs, sparing a glance out her bedroom window. Wakanda spreads out before her in a vast sea of rolling hills and towering city spires, glowing with the warm orange hues of the sunrise. With her brother gone, this land is hers to rule as decreed by law. She's always known she'd have to assume the throne one day, but never thought it would be this soon. Her mind refuses to even think about what will happen next. 

_Will happen, happening, happened  
Will happen, happening, happened and  
There we are, again and again  
'Cause you and I will always be back then  
'Cause you and I will always be back then  
You and I will always be back then._

T'Challa would want her to be strong during such a difficult time. She knows that. And one day she will be. Time's arrow will continue to march forward, and her life will go on. Slowly, things will return to a new normal. Wakanda will endure as it always has—after all, the sun could never set on such a great empire. It'll take time, but she will heal from the wounds inflicted upon her heart, as will the rest of her people. But not now. Right now, she's stuck back then, on what has happened and not yet on what will happen. And that's alright. Surely T'Challa would understand...wouldn't he?

The young princess sighs. She shuts her eyes, allowing the tears she's been holding back to flow free. Her voice shakes as words leave her trembling lips, carrying weakly through the emptiness of her room.

"I miss you, brother."

_You and I will always be back then  
That's why you and I will always be best friends._


End file.
